Video marketing: For JDSU, seeing is believing

Milpitas, Calif.-based JDS Uniphase Corp., a technology company known for manufacturing optical components for communication networks, is using video to help it extend into new markets with its new products.
“Although our roots are in optical components, we've been diversifying for the past three or four years,” said Jim Monroe, senior director-corporate marketing and communications at JDSU. “Our strategy has shifted to become a more diversified company based on our core technical experience, and we wanted to tell that story differently.”
With video as its lead channel, the company kicked off its ”JDSU From a Different View” series in 2009 to illustrate how its technologies affect people's lives every day.
And last year, when JDSU launched its blog, JDSU Perspectives, the company incorporated informative videos and other industry news from external sites, “man-on-the-street” interviews from trade shows and other images to educate current and potential customers about its products.
The company's series has become so popular, Monroe said, that the 2012 tech trends video (on JDSU.tv) received 55,000 hits the day it debuted. JDSU.tv also includes a news section where company announcements are treated like news broadcasts.
“This gives our audience—including the media and the investment community, employees and customers—a much better appreciation of our message,” Monroe said.
Research indicates that video is a potent driver of viewer engagement. According to an online poll conducted by interactive agency Digitas and research company Harris Interactive, 46% of respondents said they'd look up details about a new brand or product after seeing it mentioned in an online video; 49% said that if a brand they follow on social networks posts a video online, they're likely to click on the link and watch.
The combination of video and social sharing was particularly pronounced in the survey, “Digitas Data Digest,” conducted online in March with 2,211 respondents. Half of those who watched videos posted online by social network contacts said that if they enjoy a video, they usually share it with three or more others.
“Content is the manifestation of an active branding idea which drives business objectives,” said Stephanie Sarofian, managing director of Digitas brand content unit the Third Act. ”It can be any type of program—loyalty or acquisition, recall or awareness—as long as the next step in the engagement leads consumers directly to solutions or further valuable engagement, and not to a dead end.”
To reach new markets, JDSU is highlighting via video its work with the entertainment industry, including its development of 3-D glasses for use in viewing such movies as “Avatar.” The company has also highlighted its work with General Motors Co., which is using JDSU's optical variable pigment technology to produce unique colors for GM's Cadillac lineup.
“These colors already have had a high impact on changing perceptions of Cadillac,” Monroe said.
The company is also introducing new videos on its work to extend broadband Internet connections to rural areas where communities are underserved by evolving online technologies.
“Overall, getting broadband everywhere is a big driver for economic-growth reasons—job growth, healthcare, education,” Monroe said. The company's video series helps promote new ideas on how technology can be used, he said.
“It's all about what we call "collaborative innovation,' ” Monroe said. “We've been known as a very innovative company, something we feel is important to project. But we don't just innovate for innovation's sake; it entails a close collaboration with customers. Our videos help show that collaboration.”